What happened to Kerr Scott ?
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puzzleriddle
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Hmmm.. or NAC may have changed.
I monitor Philpott Dam up in VA regularly and now I rarely hear them either. They are/were on 173.5875 NAC 110. Not sure if it has anything to do with the fed budget cuts or not.
FWIW I monitored what I believe to be Bluestone Dam up in WV all last week on 173.5875 NAC 240, so if it's budget cuts it doesn't seem to be all sites.
FWIW I monitored what I believe to be Bluestone Dam up in WV all last week on 173.5875 NAC 240, so if it's budget cuts it doesn't seem to be all sites.
I finally had time to go up to Kerr Scott Sunday. The Ranger's are still using 173.5875 130 NAC ,but it has a very limited range. It appears they also may have Viper now too ,but I heard no comm's on the Viper site. The have 800 mhz and VHF on the trucks.
They have some very nice Mountain bike trails BTW....
ecps92
Member
It was a repeater.
ecps92
Member
Thanks, sounds like they only need something to cover their area, hence the weak signal (Low Power)
I noticed that Philpott Lake in Franklin County, VA reduced their power considerably as well. I used to be able to hear the repeater while mobile in Greensboro, but now I can only hear it when I am close to the lake.
They are on the same frequency with a NAC of 110.
They are on the same frequency with a NAC of 110.
sloop
Member
W. Kerr Scott has several problems. Cut back in man power means not as many rangers talking. The main problem is the digital P25 radio system! We use to be able to talk in to the lake from Greensboro (mobile) with full quieting, they have trouble talking from one end of the lake to the other with the new system. The mobiles still run 100 watts and the HT's 5 watts. The VHF analog radio is for communication to the sheriff's department. They use the telephone more now and talk less. The "experts" can say that digital signals go further than analog but from my experience (in this Western NC) this is not the case! Digital is NOT dependable in emergencies and I don't want my life to depend on something that may or may not work depending on where you stand or what part of the building you are on. I crossed the lake off my scanner list long ago as a wasted channel.
ecps92
Member
Actually Digital doesn't talk farther, never has as the Decode process will drop off quicker than an Analog Signal
Sounds like there might be a problem at the Repeater site, if they can't get into the Repeater
Sounds like there might be a problem at the Repeater site, if they can't get into the Repeater
sloop
Member
No, actually it is the terrain. The repeater is located on Pores Knob, Wilkes County; one of the highest points in the county. There are a lot of ridges between the repeater and the lake that did not affect the analog system but does the digital. Stone Mountain park has the same problem...that's why they still use analog even though they tried digital (Viper I guess) at one time when the state started switching over.
One thing that hasn't been covered here could the noise floor at the repeater site have increased since or around the time they went to P25. The coverage area should be about the same or at least 90-95% the same. I think there is more to this than a switch to P25 just saying.
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